Research

Dr. Katrina Poppert Cordts and colleagues developed and tested a model of parental factors that may affect the pain and psychological functioning of children with chronic pain. They found that parental chronic pain, physical functioning, and psychological functioning directly affect children’s chronic pain and psychological functioning. In contrast to prior research that examined parental factors in isolation, parental reinforcement of their child’s pain was not associated with children’s chronic pain and psychological functioning. Although behavioral interventions for childhood pain often focus on decreasing parental reinforcement, this may not be most effective.